After the red-white match ended, Coach Kataoka walked over to Chris, the team's recorder.
"Report."
Chris adjusted his glasses and replied calmly,
"After nine innings, Ushijima essentially shut out the First String starters."
"However, while leading the substitute team, he also managed to score a run himself."
"In this red-white match… Ushijima led the substitutes to victory."
Everyone already knew the result, but hearing it stated so plainly still stung.
Furuya, in particular, looked shaken. He had given up a run—hit cleanly by Ushijima—and that hit eventually turned into a score after Kominato Haruichi followed up.
As for the First String lineup…
Kuramochi.
Kominato.
Isashiki.
Yuki Tetsuya.
Masuko.
Miyuki.
Shirasu.
Furuya.
Sakai.
All of them—completely suppressed.
It wasn't that they couldn't get on base.
They did.
But every time they tried to turn those opportunities into runs… Ushijima shut them down.
And the most frustrating part?
He only used four-seam fastballs, cutters, and shootballs the entire time.
Chris continued reading the stats:
Kuramochi: 5 at-bats — 3 strikeouts, 0 hits
Kominato: 5 at-bats — 3 strikeouts, 1 hit
Isashiki: 5 at-bats — 2 strikeouts, 1 hit
Yuki: 5 at-bats — 2 hits
Masuko: 4 at-bats — 0 hits
Miyuki: 4 at-bats — 2 hits
Shirasu: 4 at-bats — 0 hits
The atmosphere turned heavy.
Even Yuki, the team's core batter, only managed a 40% batting average.
"…Zero hits," Kuramochi muttered, clenching his fists.
Masuko sighed deeply. "That kind of pitch… I can't deal with it at all."
His weakness against breaking balls had been completely exposed.
Coach Kataoka then looked at Ushijima, who was sitting on the bench, calmly icing his shoulder.
"How do you feel?"
"Not bad," Ushijima replied casually. "I probably threw around 150 pitches."
Chris answered immediately, "159."
"Close enough."
Even after such an intense session, Ushijima sounded relaxed.
Then he asked,
"How did they perform against Furuya and Sawamura?"
Chris smirked slightly.
"Furuya had two at-bats—one double and one walk."
"As for Sawamura… two at-bats, a triple and a double."
Ushijima nodded. "So I've basically figured out Sawamura's pitch."
That was the last straw.
"HEY!!!"
Sawamura exploded, pointing straight at him.
"You studied me that seriously?! That's cheating!"
"I'm not accepting this! Let's go again—one-on-one!"
"I'll throw 30 pitches, and you hit them!"
Ushijima glanced at him, unfazed.
"Give me a minute. Let me finish icing first."
Then he stood up.
"Come on. While I recover, I'll give you both some guidance."
"…Really?" Sawamura instantly calmed down.
Furuya also leaned in, interested.
They moved to the bullpen.
Even after a full match, Ushijima didn't mind continuing.
Earlier, Furuya and Sawamura had taken turns pitching—they hadn't thrown a full game like him.
Now, it was time to refine them.
Furuya had been trying to learn the forkball, but before, Ushijima couldn't guide him properly.
Now… he could.
As for Sawamura—
Ushijima had taught him the cutter from the very beginning.
And now?
That pitch had become dangerous.
"In that last game…" Ushijima muttered, recalling the moment.
Sawamura's cutter had nearly beaten him.
At the last second, he adjusted his swing angle and barely sent the ball into the infield—then relied on speed to reach second base.
Ushijima frowned slightly.
"This guy… his pitch has its own style."
Chris nodded beside him.
"Exactly. That pitch could become his decisive weapon."
"Under your training, Sawamura's ball quality has improved dramatically."
"He now has a mix of moving pitches—two-seam, four-seam, and a unique cutter."
"And combined with his delivery…"
Chris paused, then smiled.
"It's extremely troublesome."
Ushijima crossed his arms.
"The biggest problem is his release point."
"You can't see it."
"When the ball comes out, it feels like it teleports."
He continued calmly:
"By the time you react, it's already in front of you."
"And then… it moves again."
"Invisible release. Sudden appearance. Late movement."
"That combination is brutal."
Furuya's fastballs were powerful.
But if you adjusted your timing, you could still hit them.
Sawamura?
Completely different.
His pitching style was built around deception.
You think you can hit it—
Until you swing and realize… you never had the timing right to begin with.
Chris let out a small laugh.
"To be honest… I'm jealous."
"In our generation, we couldn't find even one pitcher like that."
"But your year?"
He looked at Ushijima, then toward Furuya and Sawamura.
"Three of you appeared at once."
He shook his head.
"Some generations starve… others overflow."
Even Coach Kataoka, standing nearby, couldn't help but smile.
Chris had said it perfectly.